About Arts of America
Arts of America was created by Artists, for Artists.
Rafik Hegab and Elysabeth Muscat are the Founders and Directors.
Arts of America is dedicated to recognizing excellence in the performing and creative arts. We believe that every artist deserves a platform to showcase their talent and a community to celebrate their achievements. Arts of America debuts in 2027 with its inaugural Music Competition, Dance Competition, and Dramatic Arts Competition. Our journey culminates in a live Finals Round and Awards Ceremony, where the pinnacle of creative excellence is honored and the future of the arts is illuminated.
Elysabeth Muscat is the Founder of Arts of America. She is also the Founder and Managing Director of Virginia National Ballet, and she was the Founder and Director of the Music International Grand Prix, an international competition that ran from 2020-2025 with competitors from around the world competing in NYC each spring. She has devoted her entire career to the arts, as a performer, teacher, and administrator.
Ms. Muscat is a former professional opera singer who performed leading roles at the Zürich Opera, Staatsoper Prague, Vienna Kammeroper, Theater der Stadt Koblenz, L’Opéra Français, and was a soloist with numerous symphony orchestras in Europe. She was the Chair of the Preparatory Voice Department at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, where she was on the faculty from 2001 to 2016, and she offers private voice and piano lessons in Manassas. She was a board member for seven years of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, MD-DC Chapter, where she served as State Governor, President, and Vice President. Ms. Muscat Hegab has a Master of Music in Voice from the Mannes College of Music and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Tulane University. She has won numerous awards for voice, has given Master Classes and served as a judge for many vocal competitions. Her students have been accepted to all the top conservatories including Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music with scholarships, and many have sung professionally at world renowned venues such as The Metropolitan Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, The Spoleto Festival, and National and International Broadway tours.
Under her leadership, Virginia National Ballet has become an important cultural institution in the state of Virginia and beyond. Virginia National Ballet won Best of Prince William in 2026 and 2025 for Best Dance Studio, in 2024 (Best Performing Arts Organization), and in 2023 and 2022 in three categories: Best Performing Arts Company, Best Dance School, and Best Instructor/Choreographer. The School also won Washington Parent Picks in 2023 and 2022, and was voted Best of NOVA 2017 in Northern Virginia Magazine. VNB offers outstanding instruction with excellent faculty in many dance forms as well as music, and students have the advantage of performing annually at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in The Nutcracker and the Spring Recital, and in The Nutcracker at Capital One Hall in Tysons, VA, and more, alongside professional dancers and famous guest artists.
Virginia National Ballet has a roster of 26 international professional dancers from around the world, and performs a full season each year at the Hylton Performing Arts Center and at Capital One Hall. The company has an active touring schedule throughout the state of Virginia, including performances at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, The Academy Center of the Arts in Lynchburg, the Danville Concert Association, and the company made its NYC debut in May 2025 at the Ailey Citigroup Theater in New York City. Under the leadership of visionary Artistic Director Rafik Hegab, Virginia National Ballet, now entering its 14th season, has created many world premieres and presents a broad repertoire of performances in classical, neoclassical, and contemporary styles.
With her long background in the performing arts, she is excited to begin Arts of America, an organization with a mission to promote musicians, dancers, and dramatic artists around the world.
Rafik Hegab is the Founder of Arts of America, the Founder of Music International Grand Prix, and the Founding Artistic Director and Choreographer for Virginia National Ballet, where he has been leading the company since 2013.
He is a prolific choreographer who creates at least one original World Premiere each season. Mr. Hegab has choreographed the following world premieres for Virginia National Ballet: Aida, Aladdin, Bohemian Rhapsody, Bolero, Carmina Burana, Carmen, Cinderella, Collection, For those we lost, La Boheme, Led Zeppelin, Life in the Fast Lane, Moonlight, Pictures at an Exhibition, Tango Nights, The Beatles, The Four Seasons, Snow White, Swan Lake, and he choreographed and restaged The Nutcracker and acts from Le Corsaire, and Giselle.
Under his leadership, Virginia National Ballet has become an important cultural institution in the state of Virginia and beyond. Virginia National Ballet won Best of Prince William in 2026 and 2025 for Best Dance Studio, in 2024 (Best Performing Arts Organization), and in 2023 and 2022 in three categories: Best Performing Arts Company, Best Dance School, and Best Instructor/Choreographer. The School also won Washington Parent Picks in 2023 and 2022, and was voted Best of NOVA 2017 in Northern Virginia Magazine. VNB offers outstanding instruction with excellent faculty in many dance forms as well as music, and students have the advantage of performing annually at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in The Nutcracker and the Spring Recital, and in The Nutcracker at Capital One Hall in Tysons, VA, and more, alongside professional dancers and famous guest artists.
Virginia National Ballet has a roster of 26 international professional dancers from around the world, and performs a full season each year at the Hylton Performing Arts Center and at Capital One Hall. The company has an active touring schedule throughout the state of Virginia, including performances at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, The Academy Center of the Arts in Lynchburg, the Danville Concert Association, and the company made its NYC debut in May 2025 at the Ailey Citigroup Theater in New York City. Under the leadership of visionary Artistic Director Rafik Hegab, Virginia National Ballet, now entering its 14th season, has created many world premieres and presents a broad repertoire of performances in classical, neoclassical, and contemporary styles.
Hegab was also a guest choreographer for the Regional Emmy Award Winning production of “The Circle of Life: The Music of Time Rice” at the Music Center at Strathmore by Young Artists of America, which was televised on PBS. His work has been performed at the International Ballet Festival in Managua, Nicaragua, he won the Seefeldt Award for Outstanding Individual Artist in 2019, and his work has received great reviews on Broadwayworld.com, DCMetroTheatreArts.com, Inside NOVA, Bull Run Observer, and more. His former students have gone on to dance with the Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet San Antonio, Gelsey Kirkland Ballet, and the Stara Opera Zagora Ballet in Bulgaria.
Originally from Egypt, he received his Diploma from the Higher Institute of Ballet in 2000, and his Bachelor’s Degree in Dance Pedagogy (Vaganova Syllabus) and Choreography from the Academy of Arts in Cairo in 2009. He joined the Cairo Opera Ballet Company in 1999, won 1st place in the Egyptian National Ballet Competition in 2000, became Soloist in 2002, and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2004. As a Principal Dancer, Mr. Hegab toured with the company in China, Lebanon, the Czech Republic, Jordan, Turkey, Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, India, Greece, and Russia. He danced the Matador in Don Quixote with the world renowned ballet star Julio Bocca, John in Zorba the Greek, Ali in Le Corsaire, Siegfried in Swan Lake, the principal dancer in Carmina Burana, and the Cavalier in The Nutcracker. He coached award winning ballet dancers who won first place in the Egyptian National Ballet competition. He is fluent in Arabic, Russian, and English.